“Grrrk… kkh….”
The red-bearded dwarf clutched his throat and rolled on the floor. Fresh blood streamed between his fingers.
It wasn’t a fatal wound. But… the fact that blood was coming out at all was what mattered!
And from the throat, no less! I rushed over in a frenzy and clamped my hands over the dwarf’s neck.
What the hell kind of bullshit situation is this? Anyone who saw it would think I was the murderer!
“Stay with me!”
I was pressing down hard, but the bleeding showed no sign of stopping. If this kept up, he could die from blood loss.
That was when—
“Move aside! Aiman-nim!”
Rosina shouted with grim determination from beside me. She hiked up her dress skirts and pushed in next to me.
“I’ll stop the bleeding!”
I stepped back in less than a second. As expected of a noble lady! She said she studied magic—maybe she knows healing spells too?
Was a pure white light about to descend like some saint, enveloping the wound? Would I witness the miracle of new flesh sprouting?
The situation was dire, but I couldn’t hide my anticipation. Rosina reached out her hand.
A red… scorching heat radiated from her palm.
Oh my. That’s hot. She’s basically a tanned goddess. I could fall for her. I really could.
Rosina immediately pressed her fingers to the red-bearded dwarf’s throat.
Ssssss….
“KAAAAAAGH!!!”
The sound of pork belly hitting a hot grill filled the air. And soon a savory aroma began to spread through the room.
The smell of protein burning, meat cooking.
“It’s… done, right?”
The dwarf screamed before his eyes rolled back in shock. But sure enough, the blood had stopped flowing.
“It’s… done, right? If the blood stops, then…”
Just sear the blood vessels, muscles, everything with scorching heat and boom—problem solved!
“Huu….”
Rosina wiped the sweat from her forehead with a proud expression. Uh. Hm. She actually looked proud after doing that.
Yeah, this lady is definitely not normal. Scary.
“Um, Lady Rosina.”
“Yes.”
“This… is correct, right?”
I pointed at the dwarf’s neck as I spoke.
“It was a bit extreme, I admit. But it couldn’t be helped.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Then it’s fine, right?”
“Yes. Well…”
I somehow got dragged into her logic. But why the hell did this dwarf come looking for me?
“By any chance, my lady, do you know why this red-bearded dwarf came to find me?”
Rosina thought for a moment, then her face lit up as if she remembered.
“Ah. I ran into this dwarf at Haruna’s workshop.”
“Pardon?”
Rosina gave a brief explanation, and I understood. So this dwarf came here to attack me.
***
I tied the unconscious dwarf up tightly with rope. Fortunately, there was some rope at home.
“Nngh….”
A short while later, the red-bearded dwarf groaned and opened his eyes. Honestly, I was startled.
I thought it would take much longer for him to wake up, but he was already coming to.
The moment his eyes opened, he tried to clutch his throat. Of course, being bound, he couldn’t.
“H-Hiiik?!”
Terror filled his pupils.
His throat must be burning with searing pain, and the smell of his own charred flesh was probably filling his nose.
Sigh.
I let out a long breath and ran a hand through my hair.
Auction, playing the piano once, coming home to talk with that weird lady, and now attempted murder. What a day.
My whole body felt heavy, like I’d been soaked in water.
‘How do I look right now?’
What I mean is, I probably don’t look very kind at the moment.
I know my face is average, but people have told me a few times that when I’m in a bad mood, my expression turns really ugly.
“Alright. Let’s be honest.”
I spoke to the dwarf in a low, heavy voice.
“Why did you come here?”
“J-Just… to say hello…”
“Hello?”
Hello, my ass. What a lame excuse.
“Lying is going to get tiring. I’m already pretty exhausted myself.”
I pulled out the envelope from the certified serial killer (real). The edges of the paper were still stained vivid red with blood.
Flap, flap.
When I lightly shook the envelope, the dwarf’s pupils trembled like an earthquake hit them.
“You see this, right? I’m officially recognized by the imperial family. This is something personally bestowed by His Majesty…”
I held the bloody corner right in front of his eyes.
“If you lie again, next time this might go through your heart instead of your throat, you know?”
“I-I’m sorry!!”
The red-bearded dwarf burst into sobs. Disgusting. Hm.
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
With snot running down his face, the red-bearded dwarf confessed.
“I just wanted to make sure you couldn’t play anymore…”
“Couldn’t play?”
“Y-Yes. If I just broke a few fingers or your wrist, you wouldn’t be able to perform… and then Haruna’s reputation would suffer too, so it hurt my stomach…”
I roughly understood. Dwarf guild jealousy. They couldn’t stand seeing Haruna succeed, so they tried to ruin the hands of the performer—me.
Pathetic. So pathetic. I felt empty. Completely drained. I didn’t even have the energy to get angry.
“Ha… That’s it?”
I could only click my tongue.
“Mister. This is a world with magic and divine power, you know?”
“Y-Yes…?”
“Broken fingers? Go to the priest next door, slip him a few coins, and the bones knit back together in ten minutes. Or just drink a healing potion and you’re fine.”
If you’re going to do it, do it properly.
“What kind of revenge is that? You just waste some money and that’s it. Terrible cost-efficiency. And after pulling that off, you’d get thrown in jail for attempted crime anyway.”
At my words, the red-bearded dwarf’s face stiffened completely. Then Rosina suddenly cut in.
“Aiman-nim, you’re planning to deal with this dwarf, aren’t you? I’m not very familiar with clean-up… but I’ll help as much as I can.”
“?”
I looked at Rosina. Rosina looked at me. And the dwarf looked back and forth between us, eyes shaking.
“S-Spare me!! Please spare me!!”
The red-bearded dwarf slammed his forehead against the floor in terror.
“I won’t do it again! I’ll do anything you say! Please, just not my neck…!”
“Ah. I’m not killing you. Misunderstanding. Misunderstanding.”
“Please… just my life…!”
Agh. I said I’m not killing you. I sighed and spoke to the red-bearded dwarf in an exhausted voice.
“Hey, quiet down. Stop crying.”
The red-bearded dwarf hiccupped and tried to stifle his sobs, but it wasn’t easy.
‘Let’s see…’
Let me organize the current situation.
There’s a pool of blood on the floor, and the air is thick with the smell of burnt meat.
In front of me is a bound, sobbing dwarf with a charred-black neck. Beside me is Rosina, eyes sparkling.
Total chaos. Absolute disaster. My head throbbed.
‘Ah… I just want everything to disappear.’
Piano, imperial recital, whatever—I just wanted to lie down in bed.
I should just hand him over to the guards. They’ll deal with it.
That was when—
BANG—!!!
Our front door really wasn’t having a good day. The entrance burst open roughly once again.
Why does nobody knock? I felt like beating up whoever it was, no matter who.
“Who the hell now. Seriously.”
I’m not usually this irritable. When I looked toward the door, I saw an unfamiliar man.
Oh… he’s insanely handsome. Radiant golden hair like sunlight, deep lake-blue eyes.
Dressed in luxurious clothes, a lute slung over his back—he looked like he stepped straight out of a shoujo manga.
I wanted to shower him with compliments like “pretty-boy parasite.” Suddenly I felt very angry.
He glared at me and spoke.
“You’re Aiman, right! The one with that piano instrument! My name is Lucian…?”
His words trailed off like a question mark. His blue eyes scanned the room.
The pool of blood on the floor, the bound dwarf sobbing with his blackened neck.
The smell of burnt flesh and savory meat filling the air.
Freeze.
He shut his mouth, immediately turned around, and started running away at full speed.
“What the…?”
I could only stand there dumbfounded. Wait—Lucian? That was the name I just heard.
I locked eyes with Rosina. She tilted her head, clearly unable to keep up either.
“Lucian?”
“You recognize him—wait, is he perhaps… your fiancé?”
“Ah… yes. That’s right.”
“Why do you think he came to see me?”
“…He’s in charge of the academy recital, isn’t he? I heard Serika went to Lucian and talked about your piano. Something along the lines of ‘your lute is worse than his piano.’”
“And that means?”
“He got provoked and came here himself to challenge you to a duel…?”
“What kind of bullshit—sorry. Is that nonsense?”
Our stupid back-and-forth of questions continued for a while.
After standing there dazed, my head finally cooled down. And I grasped the situation.
It felt like an emergency alarm was blaring in my mind.
“Wait! Stop right there!”
I just fucking ran.
“It’s not like that! It’s a misunderstanding!!”
A midnight chase scene. What the hell is this!
Whether it’s a one-on-one duel or whatever, I’ll do it all—so can we just talk first?
If you don’t stop right now, I’m throwing this envelope!
I gripped the certified serial killer (real) envelope tightly.